exaggeration
Americannoun
-
exaggerations
plural
-
the act of exaggerating or overstating.
-
an instance of exaggerating; an overstatement.
His statement concerning the size of his income is a gross exaggeration.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of exaggeration
1555–65; < Latin exaggerātiōn- (stem of exaggerātiō ), equivalent to exaggerāt ( us ) ( see exaggerate) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
If you're prone to exaggeration, it means you habitually overstate the truth. If you have a dog and a hamster, it would be an exaggeration to describe yourself as "practically Doctor Dolittle," living in a house full of animals. When you make something showier, or more noticeable than normal, that's also called exaggeration. The exaggeration of your hand movements might be necessary on stage so the audience can see them, but in real life it just looks silly. Exaggeration comes from the Latin word exaggerare, which means to magnify or to heap or pile on.
Vocabulary lists containing exaggeration
AP English Lit exam terms
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Theodore Roosevelt on "The Man with the Muck Rake" (1906)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The available data says the organizational response is at best a huge exaggeration of the rank and file’s view.
From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2026
Throughout the trial, Davis' defence team tried to persuade jurors that his comments were fiction - bravado and exaggeration intended to sell books and make money.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
It can’t be an exaggeration to say that tens of millions are grieving her death.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
My general note is particular to the genre: Comedy works best when exaggeration arises the way it does in nature, as a fact of personality rather than as a calculated theatrical effect.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
I shake my head, pleased by her toast, even if it’s wild exaggeration.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
Owens’ story is backed by innuendo, exaggerations, outright falsehoods, and, in several instances, messages delivered through Owens’ own dreams.
From Slate ● Feb. 27, 2026
Such exaggerations of scale—both up and down, but mostly up—are a key dynamic in the V&R vision.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2025
Throughout the men’s incarceration, the administration used blanket statements and exaggerations that obscured the truth about who they are and why they were targeted.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2025
But the firm rejected reports about the extent of the damage caused by the unnamed individual, saying they "contain some exaggerations and inaccuracies".
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2024
To be sure, some researchers have vigorously attacked the new findings as wild exaggerations.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
